[mgarvey]

Brilliant review and good pics - many thanks!

Great car by the way, if I had the money I'd have a pretty similar car, though I might chance the Saddle Brown leather.

[positiveions]

Congrats.
Great write-up. Two things I don't like: EPS, and the black panel display.
The rest I would say "agreeable".

[ALPINA B5]

i seriously wished i could get the adaptive headlights and harman kardon audio system in my country. in malaysian, our 328i we only have 2 options, either to choose luxury spec or sport spec. otherwise the equipment is pretty much fixed and are those of the standard ones in uk.

[Mbauer]

It's a nice car no doubt. The interior is way nicer! But I completely disagree on the electric power steering. Yes the steering effort is light, but it's too light. There is zero road feel in the car! It's starting to feel like a damn Lexus. If they used normal power steering and softer bushings it would fix everything. The N20 do far is pretty impressive even in the X3.

[rconti]

Excellent review! I agree, I'd go saddle leather if I went Luxury Line -- IMO it's the only reason to do so! We have so few interior choices, particularly here in the US, I don't want another black interior or puke beige. I definitely dig your choice of the dark wood -- I don't like wood interiors in general, but the dark ones look nice.

I'm really hoping we get the 330d here in the US, but it seems like the N20 might be a good compromise -- I've never actually driven the diesel, and was very impressed by the N20. It felt like easily 95% of the power of the N55. Both engines are so quiet that exhaust note is not really a factor to me.

Mbauer, did you drive the 328 in sport mode? I agree the power steering was too light in Eco Pro mode, but in sport mode it was great. In the A4 I drove on the Ultimate Drive or whatever they call it nowadays, it felt like nothing was attached to the steering wheel!

[Phil335]

Originally Posted by SomeRandomer123

Harmon Kardon

600w 16 Speaker 7.1 Surround Sound
ACE!
Super stable, super clear, super loud - awesome! Looks great too! Hugely impressive and customisable but I've found some great settings and it's just awesome! I haven't had any real chance with the standard stereo but if you can afford this option, just tick the box!

Any questions/requests on the Harmon Kardon sound system, ask!

Can you post your HK Logic 7 settings. I can't seem to get the ideal setup I like. Thanks and great review

[SomeRandomer123]

Originally Posted by PhilN20i

Can you post your HK Logic 7 settings. I can't seem to get the ideal setup I like. Thanks and great review

Yep, should be up in a couple of hours

[southern6er22]

Very nice review. I haven't seen another photo gallery of F30 pictures as complete and well done as yours. Congrats on the new car - it looks amazing.

How do the different Driving Dynamics Control modes feel in the F30? I'm sure this is somewhere in the F30 forum, but you seem to have an especially keen interest in the details of this car, so I'd love to know your opinion. In my 6er I feel a huge difference in throttle, stiffness, steering, and exhaust between Sport and Comfort, so I'm curious if BMW has kept this clear distinction in other models as well. What about EcoPro? I don't have that on my 2012 6er, but I think the 2013s with the Start/Stop feature will have it. Seems like it might get annoying between Start/Stop, climate control being overtaken by the EfficientDynamics gods, etc. Just curious.

Again, great review and pics, and congratulations!

Originally Posted by 755MSL

How did you get the special Ipod screen to display? Is that through BMW Apps?

That is the iPod Plugin feature through BMW Apps. It requires the BMW Apps software and the use of the iPhone cradle (the system treats it like video - which requires the cradle).

I have BMW Apps on my 650xi, but I don't have the cradle, so I haven't had the opportunity to play with this feature. The normal interface for the iPod/iPhone is very easy to navigate, so I haven't bothered paying $250 for a cradle when I know a new iPhone is coming and will thus require another $250 cradle in the near future. Most of the Apps features don't do much for me (Facebook, Twitter, MOG, Pandora, Web Radio, etc.), but they are very cool to play with.

I'm most looking forward to iOS6 including the MAP feature that will allow us to get texts/e-mails via bluetooth (this is currently available for BB and a few other phone manufacturers).

[ATX78703]

are ur corner blinkers LED or halogen?

[SomeRandomer123]

Originally Posted by ATX78703

are ur corner blinkers LED or halogen?

Halogen unfortunately. They will undoubtedly be upgraded to LED when the F30 is LCI'd.

[SomeRandomer123]

Originally Posted by southern6er22

Very nice review. I haven't seen another photo gallery of F30 pictures as complete and well done as yours. Congrats on the new car - it looks amazing.

How do the different Driving Dynamics Control modes feel in the F30? I'm sure this is somewhere in the F30 forum, but you seem to have an especially keen interest in the details of this car, so I'd love to know your opinion. In my 6er I feel a huge difference in throttle, stiffness, steering, and exhaust between Sport and Comfort, so I'm curious if BMW has kept this clear distinction in other models as well. What about EcoPro? I don't have that on my 2012 6er, but I think the 2013s with the Start/Stop feature will have it. Seems like it might get annoying between Start/Stop, climate control being overtaken by the EfficientDynamics gods, etc. Just curious.

Again, great review and pics, and congratulations!

Thanks!

Because I didn't opt for the Adaptive M Suspension or Variable Steering, the Drive Dynamics Control in my F30 controls only the throttle response and the transmission. However, the difference is still huge when it comes to driving! The throttle response in Eco Pro is really subdued and you have to put your foot further down to get it to pick up. Not that it makes it a slouch by any means! Eco Pro also has the transmission upshift more in the hunt for extra fuel efficiency but because the car turns over at such low revs, that makes it feel even more subdued. The only problem I have found with Eco Pro is that it suddenly realises on an incline that actually, it should be in a gear lower than it is otherwise it's all going to come to a grinding halt! So a change down when applying more power gives a little jerk which doesn't fit the bill for the finest auto transmission about really.

This is why when I'm off the motorway, it more often than not goes back to Comfort as this is just perfect. Better throttle response, the "correct" gear and just having that is more comforting! Transmission doesn't miss a beat!

Sport mode - that'll drop it down a cog or two immediately and the throttle response really sharpens up! Savage response! So even without the steering and suspension stiffening, the whole car still feels more sportier and in attack mode. No real consideration for fuel saving here - it'll try to stay above 2500rpm and just seems super ready for you to plant it!


As regards for Eco Pro controlling the climate control more, yes, it does, but the difference is negligible - although if you REALLY pay attention you will notice the A/C deactivates here and there. But it doesn't allow a raise or decrease in cabin temperature and won't adversely affect the air quality. Very clever system, and it seems effective to be honest! Clever folk designing that again, so it should be great in the 6er too.

Haven't really used Sport+ yet so can't really comment. I'd rather keep my car on the road than round a tree!

[SomeRandomer123]

Originally Posted by SomeRandomer123

Yep, should be up in a couple of hours

Here we go!
Treble in the middle.
Bass +2
L7 Surround ON

[SomeRandomer123]

Originally Posted by SomeRandomer123

That is called PlugIn in ConnectedDrive which gives the car an iPod interface when the iPhone is connected to the Media Cradle. I really like this interface!
I don't think it's part of the BMW Apps.
I will create a video on it for you (tomorrow evening probably UK time) and let you know when I post it in my first posts on this thread.

For 755MSL:

[kaishang]

Can I ask about the black panel display:

I drive on the continent a lot. Can you change the speedometer so that it is either in kilometres per hour only or km/h as the major scale with mph on the minor scale?

About the engine... I've also got the E90 330d SE. Overall, which one feels like it has more oomph? Is any difference in oomph engine alone, or the fact that the F30 has an 8-speed tranny?

Great review btw

[blueridger]

I'm really glad you love your car. Perhaps they have improved since the early 2012 F30 328i's I drove. They were nimble and quick, but the sound and steering left me uninspired. I just kept thinking, "I can't believe this is a $40k car." Just my opinion. I really hope they have improved since the ones I drove.

[755MSL]

Originally Posted by SomeRandomer123

For 755MSL:

Thank you! I really appreciate the time you took to take video and show how it works. I can say that having that interface is a very nice feature to have. Especially because it is able to categorize your music just the way it is on the iphone. So far, I've found that if I'm using any sort of ipod, I'll have the normal interface that Idrive gives you. I usually listen to podcasts and those are sorted alphabetically in songs/albums/artists, so it's rather nice that the cradle interface gives you proper sorting of media.

Do you use any of the features that the iphone cradle provides on a daily basis? Lastly, I did not opt for BMW Apps, if I got the cradle in the near future with the iphone, do I still get the interface?

[755MSL]

Originally Posted by kaishang

Can I ask about the black panel display:

I drive on the continent a lot. Can you change the speedometer so that it is either in kilometres per hour only or km/h as the major scale with mph on the minor scale?

About the engine... I've also got the E90 330d SE. Overall, which one feels like it has more oomph? Is any difference in oomph engine alone, or the fact that the F30 has an 8-speed tranny?

Great review btw

If I'm not interpreting your question wrong, the black panel is situated at the bottom of the driver information area. The speedometer and RPM gauge have fixed backgrounds. These cannot be changed as they are not on a screen. What you want is however available on 5,6 and 7 series where they have a screen on which the gauges are displayed.

[Mr. ///M3 RD]

Nicely done great review, thanks for sharing ! Enjoy

[Gel214th]

Excellent review. Tell me do you feel a rumble or a vibration going from first to second, then second to third?

[omegaSMP300]

very nicely done. thanks for posting the review.

[rconti]

Originally Posted by blueridger

I'm really glad you love your car. Perhaps they have improved since the early 2012 F30 328i's I drove. They were nimble and quick, but the sound and steering left me uninspired. I just kept thinking, "I can't believe this is a $40k car." Just my opinion. I really hope they have improved since the ones I drove.

I haven't been impressed by the sound of the 328 OR the 335. They're both near silent, so if you like some sound to your car, you need to modify it either way. I suppose, once modified, the 335 would sound better.. but I don't generally like aftermarket exhausts.

[Spikey]

This is an awesome write up.... I'm soooooooooooo lookign forward to jumping in mine but have a huge wait...